Former VBT Officer, 2 sons among 7 charged with felonies

Robert Greene, 64, of Canton, a former Van Buren Township police officer and his two sons, John Greene, 43, and Tim Green, 42, are among seven current and former police officers facing 101 felony charges.
Last Thursday, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced his Public Integrity Unit has filed more than 100 charges of Uttering and Publishing, a 14-year felony, against seven current and former police officers as a result of an investigation by the FBI Detroit-Area Public Corruption Task Force into improper salvage vehicle inspections where it is alleged the officers falsified Secretary of State documents for inspections intended to detect stolen vehicles and parts
A press release from the Attorney General’s office states that these specially certified officers were placed in positions of trust with the responsibility to ensure vehicles they inspected and approved for motor vehicle titles were not stolen. Instead, they falsified and signed documents published to the Secretary of State for new motor vehicle titles, according to the charges.
“These public officials cut corners and fraudulently submitted paperwork taking advantage of the trust and responsibility they are given as police officers,” said Schuette. “It is important to hold these individuals accountable as there are many others who complete this job by the rules every single day. I want to thank the FBI’s Detroit-Area Public Corruption Task Force and the Secretary of State’s Office for their hard work on this investigation.”
Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said, “We’re proud that our investigators were able to work with the Attorney General’s Office to bring these dishonest individuals to justice. This is why we started the Office of Investigative Affairs, which has been fighting fraud for seven years. These people give a bad name to the vast majority of honest, hard-working police officers who fight for us every day. No Michiganian should be cheated out of their hard-earned dollars.”
Jeffery E. Peterson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI, said, “The unlawful conduct committed by these few officers should not tarnish the badges or reputations of the vast majority of Michigan’s law enforcement professionals. The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to rooting out public corruption at all levels.”
Defendant information:
• Tammy Barnes, 59, of Brownstown: Detroit Police Department officer, authorized to conduct inspections by the Bangor Police Department.
– 18 felony counts of Uttering and Publishing
– Charged in the 7th West District Court in South Haven
• Elena Danishevskaya, 49, of Davisburg: Former Bangor Police Chief, authorized to conduct inspections by the Bangor Police Department.
– 25 felony counts of Uttering and Publishing
– Charged in the 7th West District Court in South Haven
• Kevin Reif, 43, of Canton: Redford Police Department Detective, authorized to conduct inspections by the Redford Police Department. Det. Reif served on an Auto Theft Task Force.
– 13 felony counts of Uttering and Publishing
– Charged in the 17th District Court in Redford
• Tim Greene, 42, of Romulus: Lieutenant in the Northville Township Police Department, authorized to conduct inspections by the Hamburg Township Police Department.
– 6 felony counts Uttering and Publishing
– Charged in the 53rd District Court in Howell
• Robert Greene, 64, of Canton: Former Van Buren Township officer, authorized to conduct inspections by Hamburg Township Police Department.
– 11 counts of Uttering and Publishing
– Charged in the 53rd District Court in Howell
• John Greene, 43, of Wyandotte: Detroit Public Schools Public Safety Officer, authorized to conduct inspections by Hamburg Township Police Department.
– 7 felony counts of Uttering and Publishing
– Charged in the 53rd District Court in Howell
• Greg Bumgardner, 44, of Southgate: Former Riverview Police Department officer, authorized to conduct inspections by Riverview.
– 21 felony counts of Uttering and Publishing
– charged in the 27th District Court in Riverview.
It is believed all seven defendants were arraigned on Thursday, March 22, and will have their probable cause conferences on April 4. A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The Greens will be in front of 53rd District Court Judge Suzanne Geddis in Howell on April 4.
Hamburg Township Police Chief Rick Duffany told the media that the statute which allows specially certified officers to inspect vehicles and ensure they are not stolen before getting a title, gives municipalities a portion of the inspection fee and in a time of tight budgets becomes a necessary way to raise revenue.
He said the Greenes entered into a contract with the township in 2012, which was immediately terminated by the board in November of 2016 after he learned about the investigation. No Hamburg officers were involved nor is the department in any way implicated in the investigation, he said.
Case background:
The seven defendants were charged following an investigation by the FBI task force and the Michigan State Police. The defendants were all specially trained and certified to conduct salvage vehicle inspections. It is alleged that a large percentage of the salvage vehicle inspections they had conducted were done so improperly, not checking LEIN to safeguard against retitling vehicles rebuilt with stolen parts or retitling stolen vehicles.
A salvage title is issued for a vehicle that has become a “distressed vehicle,” for example when a car is totaled by an insurance company. A vehicle with a salvage title cannot be plated or used on public roads even after it is rebuilt until it is recertified by a specially trained police officer and retitled. To do this the officer must be authorized by a police department. All defendants in the case were trained and properly certified.
When conducting salvage vehicle inspections, officers must check the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) to ensure stolen parts are not on it or the car itself is not stolen. In this case, each of the defendants conducts hundreds, in some instance thousands, of salvage vehicle inspections. The authorities conducted spot checks to ensure the officers had conducted the LEIN checks. It is alleged that these spot checks revealed that the officers had falsely stated they had conducted the searches required by law then whey had not.
The insurance industry also maintains a database of vehicles reported stolen within the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). In each felony allegation the officers did not check with NICB.
The press release said the MSP and the Secretary of State will work together to ensure all vehicles involved in this case have a proper salvage vehicle inspection. This may involve directly contacting the registered owners of vehicles improperly inspected to arrange for a new inspection. The process of identifying affected vehicles is ongoing.
Van Buren Township Public Safety Director Gregory Laurain said former VBT Police Officer Bob Greene served his department well. He began as a part-time officer in 1988 and became full time in 1994. He retired in 2011.
“It’s very unfortunate he found himself in this situation,” Director Laurain said of Greene.